ALP begins plan to regain Kiama seat

Labor has vowed to fight for every single seat in next year's state election campaign, Opposition Leader John Robertson told the ALP faithful in Kiama on Monday.

Mr Robertson was speaking at the campaign launch of Labor candidate for Kiama Glenn Kolomeitz.

A Gerroa barrister and father of two - and a former army and police officer - Mr Kolomeitz will contest next March's election.

"I'm about putting words into action," he said.

"Make no mistake about it; this will be a fight for us here in Kiama.

"But it's a fight that needs fighting."

Mr Kolomeitz emphasised the need to return to "Labor values ... values that only Labor gives".

"The Liberal Party is dropping the ball in regional areas and Kiama is a case in point.

"My wife's a local GP in Kiama, so we have insight into these health issues, and we're seeing people be unable to access publicly available, specialist health services like urology, orthopaedics; these grassroots entitlements.

"[The Liberals will] tell you they've been working very hard.

"It doesn't take much chipping away at the surface to see they have neglected a lot of these grassroots issues."

Mr Robertson said he wanted to get candidates into the field early.

"We've put in a lot of work over the past three years, reconnecting with the community, developing policies, listening to people, cleaning up our show and getting on with the job," he said.

Sitting MP Gareth Ward is the Liberal Party's candidate.

Former Labor MP Matt Brown entered the 2011 election with a margin of 12 per cent but a 19.4 per cent swing against Labor meant Kiama became a Liberal seat for the first time.

The seat's boundaries will shift south of the Shoalhaven River for the 2015 election.